A pair of motorized shoes have been developed by an American inventor.
The battery powered high-tech footware called "spnKiX" resemble a cross between a ski boot and a roller skate with oversized wheels and are among the gadgets on display at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
How to Choose the Right Shoes for Your Baby
Read on for some tips on shoe essentials for your baby's feet.
Advertisement
A user straps the motorized skates on to their shoes and away they go, gliding smoothly along at speeds of up to 10 miles per hour (16 kilometers per hour).
The futuristic shoes are the brainchild of Peter Treadway, a Los Angeles-based industrial designer.
"I've been developing some form of wearable transportation since the 1990s but just in the last, say like eight years, I realized the real necessity for it," Treadway told AFP.
![Now, Shoes to Keep Your Feet Cool]( "Now, Shoes to Keep Your Feet Cool")
Cycling shoes manufacturer Louis Garneau Carbon Pro Team has come up with a novel way of keeping your feet cool
"I was going to lunch one day and couldn't find a place to park," he said. "So I thought 'Why don't I make something that could get me from home to someplace really close by?'
"It's just turned into this fun kind of product."
Treadway said each shoe has a battery and a motor and they are synchronized to work together as "sort of mirrors of each other."
The rechargeable battery allows the wearer to go about two to three miles (3-5 kilometers) on a single charge and needs about two to three hours to fully juice up again.
A handheld wireless remote controller smaller than a deck of cards controls the speed of shoes.
"It's very simple," Treadway said.
Not everyone finds the shoes easy to use at first, however. Training wheels are provided to take the pain out of the learning process.
"To achieve some proficiency could take you anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours," Treadway said, depending on the individual.
Some of the money for the spnKiX was raised on Kickstarter, a website which collects donations for creative projects.
"We didn't know what we were getting into there," Treadway said. "We're past triple the amount that we asked for. Our funding goal was $25,000. We're now above $80,000.
"People are psyched," he said.
Treadway said the shoes, made by his Los Angeles-based company, Acton Inc., will begin shipping in March and will sell for $649 a pair.
Treadway holds degrees in industrial design, including one from the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design, but he said his interest in fashion contributed to the development of the motorized shoes.
"I also have a little bit of a fashion background," he said. "Which is kind of the reason why these ended up being wearable.
"I see kind of the way that a shoe designer would see a pair of shoes."
Source: AFP
"I've been developing some form of wearable transportation since the 1990s but just in the last, say like eight years, I realized the real necessity for it," Treadway told AFP.
Now, Shoes to Keep Your Feet Cool
Cycling shoes manufacturer Louis Garneau Carbon Pro Team has come up with a novel way of keeping your feet cool
Advertisement
"I was going to lunch one day and couldn't find a place to park," he said. "So I thought 'Why don't I make something that could get me from home to someplace really close by?'
"It's just turned into this fun kind of product."
Treadway said each shoe has a battery and a motor and they are synchronized to work together as "sort of mirrors of each other."
The rechargeable battery allows the wearer to go about two to three miles (3-5 kilometers) on a single charge and needs about two to three hours to fully juice up again.
A handheld wireless remote controller smaller than a deck of cards controls the speed of shoes.
"It's very simple," Treadway said.
Not everyone finds the shoes easy to use at first, however. Training wheels are provided to take the pain out of the learning process.
"To achieve some proficiency could take you anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours," Treadway said, depending on the individual.
Some of the money for the spnKiX was raised on Kickstarter, a website which collects donations for creative projects.
"We didn't know what we were getting into there," Treadway said. "We're past triple the amount that we asked for. Our funding goal was $25,000. We're now above $80,000.
"People are psyched," he said.
Treadway said the shoes, made by his Los Angeles-based company, Acton Inc., will begin shipping in March and will sell for $649 a pair.
Treadway holds degrees in industrial design, including one from the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design, but he said his interest in fashion contributed to the development of the motorized shoes.
"I also have a little bit of a fashion background," he said. "Which is kind of the reason why these ended up being wearable.
"I see kind of the way that a shoe designer would see a pair of shoes."
Source: AFP
Shoeshining Proves to be the Way Out for Jobless Orlando
62-year-old Orlando Sousa is training for a new career as a shoeshiner in the Portuguese capital after spending the last four years as a jobless person
Advertisement
Motorized Shoes to Arrive in MarchIt is being reported that motorized shoes, that have undergone 30 prototypes over the last five years, are expected to finally roll out in March 2012. | Advertisement
|
Advertisement
Recommended Reading
Latest Lifestyle News
Is losing weight good for your heart? Yes,following an intensive behavioral weight loss program and making healthy lifestyle changes can help you lose weight and boost heart health
Prejuvenation could be the new skincare trend for anti-aging. Let's stay prejuvenated to stay young forever.
Want to prevent blood clots? Then, start walking a mile for just 15 minutes every day to keep Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT) at bay.
An expert emphasizes the importance of choosing the right footwear for a healthy life and shares insights on selecting the right shoes for optimal overall well-being.
Strong parental relationships improve long-term health outcomes in adolescents, according to a new study.